


You Gotta Hand It To Them

by Siivin



Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: Bad Puns, Dark Comedy, Fluff, Gen, Humor, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:21:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27927451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Siivin/pseuds/Siivin
Summary: “Booo, you cheater,” Lewis was saying, pelting Arthur with popcorn.“I dunno Lew, you gotta hand it to me,” Arthur said, laughing as he brushed away the kernels. He waved at Lewis with his metal arm. “I won pretty handily. Next time I’ll beat you again, hands down.”Vivi is trying to enjoy a quiet night in, but it would be easier if her boys weren't absolute dorks about everything.
Relationships: Arthur & Lewis & Vivi (Mystery Skulls Animated), Arthur/Lewis/Vivi (Mystery Skulls Animated)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 68





	You Gotta Hand It To Them

As much as Vivi loved ghost hunting, it was days like these that she loved the most. 

Rain was pouring down outside, hammering on the apartment roof and streaking the windows. It was cold enough that the rain was threatening to become snow at any moment, and the wind was whipping past the building with enough force to rattle the window frames. The very thought of going outside filled her with dread.

But inside, the lights were on and the old radiator had creaked to life, and the apartment was filled with warmth and light. The smell of the soup Lewis had made for dinner still permeated the air. Her boys were sitting on the couch playing a video game while bickering amiably and Mystery was stretched out in front of the TV, snoring gently. Vivi herself was curled up in the armchair reading a novel, the noise from the game and the boys and the rain all mixing together to form a soothing background noise. It was a charming tableau, her family all together, warm and safe and happy. After everything they’d been through in the last year, Vivi couldn’t imagine anything she could have wished for more. It was perfect. 

Or at least it was, until a sudden commotion from the couch drew her attention to what Arthur and Lewis were actually saying. 

“Booo, you cheater,” Lewis was saying, pelting Arthur with popcorn. 

“I dunno Lew, you gotta _hand_ it to me,” Arthur said, laughing as he brushed away the kernels. He waved at Lewis with his metal arm. “I won pretty _handily_. Next time I’ll beat you again, _hands down_.” 

Lewis’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, you don’t stand a _ghost_ of a chance,” he said.

“Oh come on, that one’s weak,” Arthur said. “I ex _specter_ ed better from you!”

“Please don’t do this,” Vivi interjected, knowing full well that it was already too late to head this off. 

“I’ll show you better,” Lewis said as the next round started and he and Arthur started furiously mashing their controllers. “You’re a dead man, Kingsmen.”

“Ha! You should have killed me when you had the chance, Pepper! Now face the consequences!” 

“Hey!” Vivi said, frowning disapprovingly over her glasses. “That’s in poor taste.” 

“You know what else is in poor taste? You eating your WORDS! Ha!” Lewis crowed. Arthur cursed at whatever was happening on the screen. “Nice try, but throwing me off a cliff is a trick that only works once!” 

“I’ll throw you off as many cliffs as it takes!” 

“You already struck me down once and I returned more powerful than you could possibly imagine!” 

“Then I’ll just have to keep trying!” 

“That’s enough!” Vivi said sharply. Arthur and Lewis may have coped with dark humor, but Vivi wasn’t a fan. Both men winced, attention faltering from the game as they looked at her guiltily. “Let’s just - drop it, okay?” 

There was a moment of silence, punctuated only by the background sounds of the game, and then - 

“I don’t know Viv, that’s not very _ice_ of you,” Arthur said with a mock frown. Lewis’s giggle was drowned out by Vivi’s long-suffering sigh. 

“Arthur -” Vivi said.

“You’re being _snow_ fun, Viv.” 

“Lewis -” she said, but her frown was beginning to crack. 

“Pretty _cold_ of you.” 

“Maybe you need to _chill._ ” 

“ _Snow_ reason to get all _fired_ up about it.” 

“I swear -” she said, but she was smiling despite herself and it only egged them on.

“If you can’t take the _heat_ , you’ll end up a _ghost_ of your former self.” 

“It would be a _grave_ mistake not to appreciate our _disarming_ sense of humor.” 

“You shouldn’t _wraith_ your chance to give us a _hand_ now and then.”

“I am going to kill both of you,” she informed them, head in her hands, and immediately realized her mistake. But it was too late. There was a moment of stunned silence, and then -

“VIVI!” 

“WOW, Vivi, really? I can’t believe you -” 

“Lewis is DEAD, for God’s sake, don’t be fucking rude -” 

“You think you know someone and then they come out with something like this -” 

“I mean geez, how about a LITTLE sensitivity -” 

“Honestly I expected better from you -” 

“You can’t just _say_ shit like that -” 

Vivi stood up. “I’m going to read elsewhere,” she informed them stiffly, ignoring her boyfriends as they tried to keep berating her over their own smothered giggles. As she turned and left the room, she could hear them dissolve completely into helpless laughter behind her. 

But she was smiling as she retreated to the safety of the bedroom. Outside may have been cold and dark and lonely. But she was inside, safe and warm with her family - idiots though they may be - and they were together and happy. And she couldn’t have asked for anything more perfect. 

**Author's Note:**

> I love guilty-Arthur-and-Lewis as much as the next person, but consider this: Arthur and Lewis sharing a dark sense of humor that drives Vivi crazy and after everything is all settled, it gets ten times worse.


End file.
